Military Vet, Small Business Owner Shares Franchising’s Positive Economic Impact

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Franchising Public Awareness Campaign Features The UPS Store

The UPS Store® is the one of the featured businesses in this year’s International Franchise Association (IFA) fall public awareness campaign.

The IFA campaign seeks to educate members of Congress about the positive economic impact of franchising, including more than 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion to the U.S. economy each year.

This year’s campaign features The UPS Store franchisee and veteran George Berkeley from South Orange, N.J. Berkeley, a former Navy systems engineer and Wall Street financial services professional, opened his The UPS Store location with the assistance of incentives and discounts from the IFA-sponsored VetFran program.

“Small business has given me the opportunity to give back to my community and continue to give back to my country,” Berkeley said. “We’re not only supporting other local small businesses, but we’re also creating jobs for local college students in our town.”

According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees.

“As Congress discusses laws and regulations that impact small business, it is critical they understand the positive impact franchising has on our economy,” said Stuart Mathis, IFA board member and president of Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., franchisor of The UPS Store network. “We need Congress to support regulations that allow small business to flourish and bolster the economy as it continues to recover.”

Other franchise businesses that have been highlighted in the IFA Public Awareness Campaign include Dunkin Donuts, BrightStar and FastSigns.

To view the study “Economic Impact of Franchised Businesses,” conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the International Franchise Association’s Educational Foundation, visit www.buildingopportunity.com.

The UPS Store has been recognized as Entrepreneur Magazine’s No. 1 franchise opportunity in the postal and business services category for 21 consecutive years, as well as the first franchise network in its category to receive an available pool of funding of $22.5 million for qualified franchisee applicants through Franchise America FinanceTM and The Bancorp Bank.


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*This is not an offer of a franchise. Any franchise offer is made only after a Franchise Disclosure Document has been provided.

About The UPS Store With more than 4,700 locations, The UPS Store® and Mail Boxes Etc.® network comprises the world’s largest franchise system of retail shipping, postal, print and business service centers throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. In the U.S. and Puerto Rico, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. locations are independently owned and operated by licensed franchisees of Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., a UPS subsidiary. In Canada, locations are independently owned and operated by licensed franchisees of master licensee MBEC Communications, L.P. For additional information on The UPS Store, including information on franchise opportunities for opening a The UPS Store location*, visit www.theupsstore.com.